| Originator: | Avila-Sedoris, Janielle Status: Approved Department: PAR Paralegal | |
| Date Created: | 02/13/2015 Submitted: 02/17/2015 Completed: 04/20/2015 | |
| Effective Semester: | Fall | |
| Catalog Year: | 2015-16 | |
| Course Prefix: | PAR | |
| Course Number: | 101 | |
| Course Full Title: | Legal Research and Writing I | |
| Reason for Evaluation: | Competencies Change Prerequisite Change | |
| Current Credit: | 3 | |
| Lecture Hours: | 3 | |
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| If the credit hour change box has been marked, please provide the new credit hour: | ||
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| SUN Course?: | No | |
| AGEC Course?: | No | |
| Articulated?: | Yes | |
| Transfer: | ASU NAU | |
| Prerequisite(s): | Appropriate Score on assessment test or successful completion of PCS021 and TRE089.
Students seeking the A.A.S. Paralegal degree must also have an appropriate score on the assessment test or successful completion of TRM 091 or higher. |
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| Corequisite(s): | N/A | |
| Catalog Course Description: | Introductory principles and procedures for conducting legal research and techniques for basic legal writing. Includes categories of research materials, proper citing of legal material, finding and using secondary authority, Shepard's Citations, case law, constitutions, statutes and administrative law. The analysis of research topics and the preparation of research reports, basic letter writing, and legal memorandums will also be covered. This should be the first course taken in any paralegal program. All other paralegal courses require that this course either be completed or taken concurrently. | |
| Course Learning Outcomes: | 1. Use basic legal research terminology correctly. (2,3,4,5,6)
2. Perform basic legal research. (1,2,3,5,6) 3. Analyze federal and state sources of law. (2,3,4,5,6) 4. Prepare a case brief. (2,3,5,6) |
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| Course Competencies: | Competency 1: Summarize the basic functions of the legal system and legal information sources.
Objective 1.1: Describe the role of a legal researcher. Objective 1.2: Explain the effect of federalism on legal publications. Objective 1.3: Describe the sources of U.S. Law. Objective 1.4: Differentiate between a primary and a secondary source of law. Objective 1.5: Identify the types of materials often found in law libraries. Objective 1.6: Identify common features of law books. Competency 2: Identify legal issues presented in the facts of a case. Objective 2.1: Describe the three basic factual categories used to analyze a case. Objective 2.2: Explain how to compare case law facts with a client's factual situation. Objective 2.3: Describe how to identify legal issues in a client's factual situation. Objective 2.4: Describe how to identify legal issues in a reported case law decision. Objective 2.5: Write a good issue statement. Competency 3: Analyze case law. Objective 3.1: Recall where case law may be located. Objective 3.2: Explain the purpose of case law. Objective 3.3: Identify the elements of a case law citation. Objective 3.4: List the print publications containing U.S. Supreme Court case law. Objective 3.5: Differentiate the official publication of U.S. Supreme Court case law and the unofficial publications of the same material. Objective 3.6: Explain the purpose of a regional reporter. Objective 3.7: Define the components of a case. Objective 3.8: Compare and contrast the facts of a reported case with a client's factual situation. Competency 4: Prepare a case brief. Objective 4.1: Explain the purpose of a case brief. Objective 4.2: Describe the components of a case brief. Objective 4.3: Write the name and citation of a case. Objective 4.4: Summarize the judicial history, relevant facts, legal issue, rule of law, case analysis, and the holding of a case. Competency 5: Explain the publication and organization of constitutions, statutes, and administrative materials. Objective 5.1: Describe the various parts of the U.S. Constitution. Objective 5.2: Explain how federal statutory law is enacted. Objective 5.3: Differentiate between public laws and private laws. Objective 5.4: Find a section of the United States Codes with a citation to the Code (U.S.C.), the United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.), or the United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.). Objective 5.5: Use a pocket part supplement. Objective 5.6: Use an index to locate applicable constitutional or statutory law. Objective 5.7: Differentiate between the Code of Federal Regulations and the United States Code. Objective 5.8: Find administrative regulations and rules of court. Competency 6: Demonstrate the appropriate legal analysis based on case law, statutory law, administrative regulations, and constitutions. Objective 6.1: Explain the relevance of the concept of federalism to the constitutional analysis. Objective 6.2: Determine whether the U.S. Constitution or a state constitution applies to a factual situation arising under state law. Objective 6.3: Explain why it is helpful to outline statutory language. Objective 6.4: Explain the importance of reviewing case law that interprets code provisions. Objective 6.5: Explain how legislative history affects statutory interpretation. Objective 6.6: List the four steps used in the IRAC method for analyzing statutory law. Objective 6.7: Outline the statutory requirements or elements of a code section. Objective 6.8: Use the IRAC method to analyze a factual situation controlled by statutory law. Competency 7: Utilize secondary source materials. Objective 7.1: Describe the common features of secondary source materials. Objective 7.2: Research a legal question using legal encyclopedias. Objective 7.3: Research a legal question using the American Law Reports. Objective 7.4: Compare and contrast using treatises and periodicals to research a legal issue. Objective 7.5: Identify the features of a looseleaf service. Objective 7.6: Explain the purpose of a looseleaf service. Objective 7.7: Explain the relevance and limitations of the Restatement of Law as a research tool. Objective 7.8: Explain why C.L.E. materials, form books, and pattern jury instructions are useful research tools. Competency 8: Utilize Digests. Objective 8.1: Explain the relationship between case reporters and digests. Objective 8.2: Explain how headnotes are organized in a digest. Objective 8.3: Describe the West topic and key number system. Objective 8.4: Describe the West digest system. Objective 8.5: Use a descriptive word index in a digest to locate case law. Objective 8.6: Use a headnote from a case to find similar cases in a digest. |
| Document | Document Name | File Type |
|---|---|---|
| Review Document | Bloom's Taxonomy & Resources - 2015-02-18 21:21:58 Etc/GMT | application/msword |